Complications
by purrpickle
Summary: Mike hadn't planned it at all. He had a girlfriend he loved completely, parents who were beginning to support his passion of dance, and a senior year that, at least lately, couldn't have been going better than it already was. But then he'd taken a winter job at the only dance studio in Lima... Mike/Tina/Rachel, or as I like to call it, Tikeberry. One-shot, complete.


**A/N: **I don't own Glee nor the characters within. This was an idea that plagued me until I wrote it; it is rough and will probably stay so, seeing as I just needed to get it down before I could relax. I don't know if I'll ever do any more within this universe, but regardless, hope you get some enjoyment out of it. And yes, again, warning: this is Mike/Tina/Rachel.

* * *

Mike hadn't planned it at all. He had a girlfriend he loved completely, parents who were beginning to support his passion of dance, and a senior year that, at least lately, couldn't have been going better than it already was.

But then he'd taken a winter job at the only dance studio in Lima to help pay for when he went off to college. It was a fun job, one he'd done twice before (when he managed to hide it from his parents), but this year had had something different: his partner to help teach the classes turned out to be none other than Rachel Berry.

"You serious?" Tina laughed when he'd told her, clutching her steaming hot coffee solidly within her hands.

"I know," Mike nodded, pulling her close to kiss her, "But she's actually pretty decent with the ballet. Her free-style, however…" Trailing off, he grinned when Tina slid around to wrap her arm around his waist, her hand disappearing into the pocket of his jacket.

Squeezing him, Tina playfully threatened him to keep his hands to himself.

"Rachel?" His turn to laugh, Mike shook his head, "I love _you_, Tina."

And he'd meant it, even when, a week later, Rachel approached him for dance lessons.

"You going to do it?" Tina asked, shoveling her bite of orange chicken into her mouth.

Mike shrugged, mouth twisting neutrally. "She promised to help me with my voice, so yeah, I was thinking about it." He picked up an eggroll, "She actually asked if you would be there, too."

"Me?" A surprised expression crossing her face, Tina tilted her head, chopsticks paused in her hand. "Wait, for vocal practice or dance?"

Badly hiding a grin, Mike waved a hand, "I don't know… God knows you need help with both."

"Hey!" Pretending to be angry, Tina softly whacked his shoulder. "Actually," it was her turn to shrug, plucking his eggroll out of his hand, "It doesn't sound like a bad idea, and I _do _have a couple of weeks before my family visits."

Making an exaggerated face at the loss of his eggroll, Mike nodded. "Cool," he smiled, reaching out his free hand to take Tina's, lacing their fingers together on the table, "This should be fun."

And it really, _surprisingly_, had turned out to be fun. Even if, in the beginning, Rachel had insisted on things being rigid and 'proper', listening with almost scary attention when Mike instructed her and Tina. But with each passing day, her comfort about being around Mike and Tina and doing what they were doing, oftentimes pushed in close to one or the other growing, she'd relaxed, even becoming less high strung when it was her time to teach. Hands pressed close into their solar plexuses, sometimes right over their lungs or throat as she walked them through each routine, she'd become looser and more approachable; easier to understand and tolerate, even… Kinda fun to hang out with.

And as the time passed, Mike found that he and Tina were spending less time goofing off with each other and spending more time actually listening to and interacting with the small girl. The more comfortable Rachel got, the more animated she became, and the more… Attractive she became.

Though Mike was still desperately in love with Tina, he slowly found himself reacting to Rachel when she was near, suggesting more and more complicated moves that meant he'd have to have his hands on her for longer amounts of time as he guided her through the motions. It was stupid and disgusting and made him feel guilty, and he'd tried to stem the flow of emotions by assigning her and Tina more partnered dance moves together. And when each session would be over, he'd be all over Tina in a need to convince himself he _wasn't_ thinking what he was thinking, losing himself in her, barely noticing that Tina would be all over _him_, too…

But the day Tina was late was the day everything came to a head. Having pulled Rachel back into his chest, his hands on her hips as he led her in a rolling, dance club move, Mike wasn't prepared for her stumbling. Tightening his grip, he turned her, about to ask her if she was okay when she suddenly surged up on her tiptoes, hands clawing into his shoulders. Her mouth crashing into his, he immediately kissed her back, hands sliding up to cradle her lower back, heat flashing through his body. It was like a gate had been opened, illicit feelings flowing through unhindered.

Lips moving over each other, bodies pushed in close to each other, a sudden clatter at the entrance to the dance studio snapped them apart. Seeing the wide dark eyes of his girlfriend staring at him and the red on her cheeks as she turned to flee, pure panic and self-loathing pushed the fog of Rachel out of Mike's mind. Barely hearing Rachel's stuttered apology, he had already sprinted away from her, hand slapping into the doorway as he used it to swing himself to the right to follow Tina down the hall. "Tina!" he shouted, catching up to her before she hit the front doors; his heart pounding almost out of his chest, he grabbed her wrist, apologies and words of nonsense babbling out of his chest.

But Tina was already talking. Tears crowding her eyes, she pushed forward, hands curling in Mike's shirt, pulling him closer, as close as she could. "I'm sorry," she was crying, burying her face in Mike's neck, "But I should have told you – I should have told you that I kissed her too."

"What…?" Wrapping his hands around Tina's arms, Mike's hands slipped up to curl around her cheeks, urging her head up, "Tina? What are you saying?"

"Last week. When you had to leave early." Rachel's soft voice came from behind him, the girl slowly walking around him to hover behind Tina's shoulder. Her eyes were red, her shoulders high and her hands worrying at her waist. Her lower lip was caught in her teeth, and sadness radiated out from her. As Mike's eyes drifted down her body, he noticed that she had already changed her dance shoes into her street ones, her gym bag over her shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I've completely," Rachel's breath hitched, her eyes averting, "Ruined everything."

Mike's eyebrows furrowed. It felt like he was drowning, Tina's body shaking against his as the girl opposite him looked smaller than he had ever seen her. He swallowed. "Don't go anywhere," he ordered Rachel before looking down at his girlfriend. "Tina," he searched her eyes, "Why didn't you tell me?"

He was so confused. He'd _kissed _Rachel. Rachel had kissed him _back_. And now – and now he'd just learned that _Tina_ and Rachel had kissed?

"Because I was hoping that the feelings would go away," Tina sniffled. Some strength came back into her and she pushed herself away far enough to stare at him, "Would _you _have told _me_ if I hadn't interrupted you?"

Mike's eyes met Rachel's. "I… Don't know," he admitted, watching Rachel's eyes look down before moving his attention to Tina again; taking his hands back, he shoved them into his pants' pockets, taking a step back, "I don't know anything right now." His gaze moving back and forth between Rachel and Tina, he knew that even if he _loved _Tina, he _still_… He still _wanted_ Rachel. He had _no_ idea what was going on anymore.

As Tina sniffled, Rachel looked up. "Maybe…" she suggested hesitantly, one hand tightening around the strap of her gym bag, "We should go back into the dance studio and… Talk…?"

Mike met Tina's gaze. "Sure," he shrugged, shaking his head and taking one hand out of his pocket to run his fingers through his hair, lips twisting in response to his girlfriend's desperate, hopeful expression, "I don't think it could make anything worse."

And, padding back into the studio, catching the furtive glances of yearning passing between the two girls in front of him before they were directed at him, Mike breathed in deeply. Things were going to change. He let out the large breath of air, mind wandering to the place he only ever let himself think about late at night, right before he fell asleep. Things were going to change, and…

He wasn't sure he didn't want them to.


End file.
